James Madison U. business plans win start-up money

The sustainable business plan by Optisilv was to create software that will enable cheaper and more accurate forest inventory over traditional techniques.

The Optisilv business plan, presented to judges by Bortolot, won JMU's first Sustainable Business Plan Competition on Monday. Its forest inventory will be done through software that combines digital aerial photographs or related technology with ground data. Two other business partners, Mark Milligan and John Paul McTague, helped create Optisilv.

According to Carol Hamilton, assistant director of the JMU Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE), which held the contest, four finalists were chosen by JMU professors and business professionals from 54 entries.

Each group presented its business plan to a panel of six judges.

One judge, Bob Kolvoord, professor of Integrated Science and Technology, explained what they were looking for in the plans.

"The idea here was that these would be businesses that would feature sustainability, that in the products that they make, the services that they offer and the way they run themselves, they would promote sustainability," Kolvoord said. "That was really the hook for this whole competition."

Kolvoord added that the plan with the best combination of sustainability, viability and presentation would win.

The judges then asked each team questions -- within the 10-minute time frame -- concerning issues such as materials used in proposed technology, financial backing and profit outlook.

Bortolot described why Optisilv's plan was victorious.

"First of all, it is highly sustainable," Bortolot said. "Trees absorb approximately 12 percent of [the carbon dioxide that] people in the U.S. emit, and then go put it into long-term storage."

Bortolot explained that this means forest inventories are crucial for managing timberland, properly accounting for forest benefits and maximizing forest environmental and economic benefits.

If wood were managed more efficiently, it would be competitive with nonrenewable resources such as coal, according to Bortolot.

The runner-up, Eastern BioPlastics, LLC, will also receive funding and services. Business partners Sonny Meyerhoeffer and Matthew Swartley planned to manufacture biodegradable plastics from poultry feathers using green technology.

Junior Chad Kiernan, a business major, thought BioPlastics' plan was unique.

"I think that the best idea was definitely the Eastern BioPlastics," Kiernan said. "It is taking something that is not being used at all, feathers, and making it profitable and environmentally friendly."

Bortolot said that BioPlastics' idea would be extremely viable in Rockingham County due to the poultry industry.

Third place went to Secure Futures, LLC, and fourth place was given to The Friendly City Food Co-Op.

Contact Allie Conroy at conroyad@jmu.edu

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